Chapter 33
It was a face I had never seen around here before.
I stared at him intently, then reached out toward Estelle, who was sitting next to me, and pulled her into my arms so she would be out of his line of sight.
“You don’t look like a hunter from around here.”
“Correct. I suppose you could call me a wanderer. I don’t hunt in just one place. I hunt prey, sure, but I also hunt prize money from hunting competitions. I’m a true hunter, you could say.”
The man, who introduced himself as Gilbert, raised both his empty hands above his shoulders when he noticed the suspicion in my gaze.
It was a gesture to show that he wasn’t holding any weapons and had no intention of threatening us.
He didn’t seem like a dangerous person.
Only then did I lower my guard a little.
Gilbert immediately noticed the change in my demeanor and quickly lowered his hands.
“The autumn festival will be held soon, won’t it? I heard the prize money for this village’s hunting contest is enormous this year. That’s why I came—to do some early scouting.”
Gilbert smiled warmly and gestured toward the forest surrounding the lake, making a little circle with his thumb and index finger.
Estelle, still hidden in my arms, peeked her head out.
“But what about the lake?”
Curious as always, Estelle wanted to know why we weren’t supposed to enter the lake.
With a puzzled expression, she asked him.
“You don’t know, little lady? The legend of this lake.”
“A legend?”
“Ahem. It’s a bit much to tell for free.”
Gilbert cleared his throat and glanced sideways.
His gaze landed on the neatly arranged sandwiches inside our lunchbox.
Feeling guilty for having misjudged him, and since I wasn’t particularly hungry anyway, I pulled out my share of the sandwich and offered it to him.
“Please, take mine.”
“Reina!”
Estelle exclaimed in shock.
“I’m the one who’s curious, so I should be the one to give him my sandwich! Why did you hand over yours?”
“I’m not really hungry.”
At my answer, Estelle fumed.
But I just shrugged it off casually.
What could she do? I’d already given it away.
Besides, as if I’d ever give away Estelle’s food.
Of course, I only gave mine.
Without explaining, I just grinned sheepishly, dodging her complaint.
Estelle thumped her chest in frustration, seeing how slippery I was being.
“Haha! Such sibling-like affection! It’s a beautiful thing to see. I’ll enjoy this, thank you.”
His hearty laugh shifted the mood.
Both Estelle and I turned toward the sound.
Gilbert was holding the sandwich, smiling at us as though amused.
He raised it slightly.
“Well then, since I’ve received this sandwich, I suppose I can tell you the legend of this lake.”
Gilbert took a big bite of the sandwich.
Then, slowly, he began to speak.
“Hundreds of years ago, a dragon lived in this lake. A blue dragon, its scales as deep and vivid as the lake itself.”
A long, long time ago, there lived a dragon in this lake.
It was a great Blue Dragon, with scales as deep as the ocean.
The Blue Dragon had a lover.
His lover was a fragile, pure-hearted human, white as a rabbit.
The human was so delicate.
A single dragon scale could cut her, and a bump against his hard body would leave her bruised.
Once, she even fainted in fright upon seeing his true form.
But none of that mattered.
The Blue Dragon and his human lover loved each other deeply.
Yet humans live lives far shorter than dragons.
And so, the time came when they were forced apart.
The human lover passed away.
Grief-stricken, the Blue Dragon could not stop his tears.
Who knows how much time went by?
Day after day, crying in sorrow, the Blue Dragon finally made a decision.
He would wait until his beloved was reborn someday in the future—so they could meet again.
The Blue Dragon returned to his home, this lake.
And, longing for the day he would see his beloved once more, he fell into a deep slumber.
When Gilbert finished his tale, I dabbed away tears with my sleeve.
“What a romantic story.”
“Isn’t it?”
Gilbert gave me a satisfied grin, clearly entertained by the way I was openly crying at the tale.
But… how could anyone not cry?
It was so heartbreaking!
They overcame their differences out of love, only to be separated because they couldn’t overcome the difference in their lifespans.
The dragon left behind must have been devastated, unable to hold onto his departing lover. And how sorrowful must it have been for the human, leaving her dragon alone?
“Sniff… h-huuuhhh…”
These were nameless, faceless characters to me.
It might just be a made-up story, or maybe a true one—no one knows.
But their love was so tragic that I found myself sniffling, tears streaming down my cheeks.
“But what does that have to do with not going into the lake?”
“…Estelle?”
Beside me came a flat, almost cold voice.
It was Estelle’s.
Her face showed no emotion at all—not a single tear.
She must not have felt any sadness at the story.
I turned to her, shocked.
“The story isn’t over yet.”
But when Gilbert looked at Estelle, his expression was very different—tinged with disappointment, unlike the pleased look he’d given me.
What? He was happy with my reaction but disappointed in hers?
So he really was just enjoying my emotions!
I glared at him indignantly.
Gilbert carried on with his story regardless.
“The tale of their love spread quickly across the land. Soon, countless lovers came to this lake.”
“Why? It had nothing to do with them.”
“They believed the saying: ‘If you enter the lake with the one you love, you will spend your lives together in eternal love.’ Word of this spread everywhere.”
Well, that made sense.
Everywhere has its little legends.
Like throwing a coin into a fountain with your back turned to make a wish.
This was just another tale like that.
The lovers who came here probably knew it was just a rumor without real proof.
Still, they came, hoping their love would be like that of the dragon and his beloved.
Aw… that’s kind of sweet.
I imagined couples wading into the lake together, smiling at each other in happiness, and couldn’t help but smile myself—
“…Of course, they really did end up together forever. Because every couple who entered the lake died. In a different sense, the rumor turned out to be true.”
—but then he said they died.
…Wait.
They all died?
So the idea was that they spent eternity together in death because they died while in love?
Isn’t this basically a horror story?!
My tears dried up in an instant.
I swallowed hard and looked at Gilbert.
“The cause of death was never proven to be the lake itself. But the one thing they all had in common was that they had entered the lake. That much was undeniable.”
“…”
“And so, after that, no one dared to go into the lake.”
Well, that figures.
People want lifelong love and happiness in this world, not in the afterlife.
How strange. When I first arrived, this place seemed so beautiful and peaceful…
But now the emerald waters of the lake looked dark and murky, and the once-lively trees seemed brittle and lifeless.
A chill crept up my spine, making me shiver.
“But that’s just a story, isn’t it?”
“Of course.”
“And besides, it has nothing to do with me. I’m alone. Would anything happen if someone went in by themselves?”
Gilbert, who had looked so confident just moments before, suddenly faltered at Estelle’s sharp tone and question.
He’d thought she would at least react to the frightening part of the tale.
But instead, she showed no fear at all, only curiosity about the details.
I felt the same, actually.
Maybe her emotional sensitivity rating of 17 just isn’t enough to be moved.
Unlock soon!~